The National Archives Celebrates the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment

/PRNewswire/ -- The following is a document alert -- part of a program sponsored by the National Archives to notify the media of documents in the holdings of the National Archives that are relevant to national holidays, anniversaries or current events. This program is based on original records from the National Archives, its 13 Presidential libraries and 14 regional facilities, and is designed to offer the media an historical perspective on events that occur periodically and to highlight historical antecedents to current political or diplomatic initiatives.


(The following is based on an article that appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of Prologue magazine, the Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration. The text and high resolution images of the 19th Amendment can be found online at: http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=63). A petition to Congress for the right to vote, signed by Susan B. Anthony is online at: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/anthony-petition.html

Pieces of History
The 19th Amendment Gives Women the Right to Vote


On a hot August day in 1920, Representative Harry Burn listened as the Tennessee House of Representatives debated an issue that had been simmering since well before the Civil War--woman suffrage.

For generations, long before 24-year-old Burn was born, the woman suffrage movement had as its goal an amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowing women the right to vote.

The movement had begun in 1848 at a women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, but it took 30 years to get the amendment introduced in Congress. Action on Capitol Hill was very slow. Until 1914, the Senate voted only once, turning it down, and the House did not vote at all.

Meanwhile, the suffragists took their fights to the states. Through legislative action or state amendment, the movement had some success. In the 1916 election, women could vote for presidential electors in 11 states. By 1920, even without the referendum, women would have been able to vote for presidential electors in 30 states.

Finally, in the spring of 1919, Congress passed the amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. States acted, quickly, and by August 1920, 35 had approved it. In all but one of the remaining states, the amendment had either been rejected or had no hope of being approved.

With one additional state needed, the push for ratification focused on Tennessee. Supporters and opponents of the amendment, the press, and thousands of spectators flocked to Nashville to witness the proceedings. Carrie Chapman Catt, the latest in the long line of woman suffrage leaders that had included Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, was also there.

Tennessee's Senate had already approved it, but after several votes in the House, the issue was deadlocked, 48 to 48. As the debate continued, Burn opened a letter from his mother.

"Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the 'rat' in ratification," mother Burn wrote. Harry had been counted among the opponents, but when the next vote was taken, Harry voted in favor of the amendment, and ratification was approved.

Thus, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote, was ratified on August 18, 1920, in time for women in all states to vote for President later that year.

The next day, Harry Burn explained his vote to angry opponents: "I believe in full suffrage as a right. I believe we had a moral and legal right to ratify. I know that a mother's advice is always safest for her boy to follow, and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification."

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World Freedom Began With the Emancipation Proclamation

/PRNewswire/ -- On September 22, 2009, 12:00 PM at the Navy Memorial and on every military post and government office throughout the world, the 147th Anniversary of the Issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation will be commemorated.

The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (nacwc.org) is asking black co-workers to invite their counterpart co-workers and friends to read together in silent or public fellowship the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

At a time when our country faces war it is important for all to remember that the sacrifices made for emancipation mirrors the sacrifices being made to free the world from terror. It is vital that the world be reminded by this fellowship of our country's core principle. The Battle Hymn states "As he died to make men holy let us die to make men free". The issuance of the proclamation was secured by the sacrifice of more than ten thousand lives at the Battle of Antietam. President Lincoln made a covenant with God that he would "free the slaves should by his grace the union army drive the enemy from Maryland".

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED WOMEN'S CLUBS, INC. is a 501(C) (3) Taxed Exempt Organization created for educational purposes. It is one the OLDEST WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD and dedicated to Historic Black Colleges, Universities and Worldwide Education. The Talented Tenth of the Post War Baby Boom occupied the building located at 1601 R St. NW Washington, DC. Under the club name "Foxtrappe" those members, mostly employed in government, began the outreach in 1992.

Through the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs website, NACWC.ORG, black government worker and soldiers are being asked to initiate this commemoration with their counterparts. We believe this out reach will help overcome the guilt and shame that has often distracted Americans from appreciating the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation and the sacrifice made for it.

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Women Get the Vote 89 Years Ago Today

Women were meeting as early as 1848 to discuss their desire to vote. This amendment, which gave women the right to vote, took many years for the public to accept. It wasn't until after World War I that President Wilson announced his support of women voters.

The bill was proposed in June 1919 and was ratified August 20, 1920.

The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was officially certified on August 26, 1920.

This Constitution Moment was brought to you by the James Waldrop Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, Fayetteville, GA.

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UGA to Celebrate Women’s History Month

In recognition of the 2009 national Women’s History Month theme “Women: Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet,” the University of Georgia Institute for Women’s Studies will be sponsoring several events, including films and lectures, in March.

For the month’s keynote event on March 20-21, IWS will host a symposium in honor of the late Australian philosopher Val Plumwood, a leading contributor in the development of ecofeminism and radical environmental philosophy. Titled “Environmental Justice and Ecofeminism: Ethical Complexity in Action” the symposium will bring together prominent theorists, activists and community members working on issues and questions that are deeply social and ecological.

The symposium will open with an afternoon keynote address on Friday, March 20, sponsored by the Willson Centerfor Humanities and Arts, in the Coverdell Building by feminist ethicist and animal rights activist Lori Gruen, associate professor at Wesleyan University, and will continue on Saturday with sessions at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.

Invited speakers include Teri Blanton, a fellow with Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, who concentrates on the campaign to end mountaintop removal mining in eastern Kentucky and helps create a sustainable and survivable energy future; and Jamie Baker Roskie, managing attorney of the UGA Land Use Clinic, who will focus on the community of Newtown in Gainesville, Ga., where residents have been fighting exposure to toxic chemicals since the 1990s.

The conference also will feature panel discussions by faculty members from UGA. Papers from the conference will be collected in a special issue of the journal Ethics and the Environment.

Friday’s events will be held at the Coverdell Center and Saturday’s events will be at the Callaway Building in the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. There is no registration fee for the conference and all meals are included. For the full schedule and details, see www.uga.edu/iws.

Other events include the Women’s History Month film festival; an evening of spoken word and music with Aralee Strange, a local Athens artist, and Laurie Stone from New York City, at Flicker Bar & Theatre on Tuesday, March 3; a lecture on “The Sexual Politics of Meat” by Carol Adams on Wednesday, March 4; and a panel discussion “Food is a Feminist Issue: Gardens, Farms and Local Markets” on Tuesday, March 31.

For a complete list of Women’s History Month events see www.uga.edu/iws, and click on “events.” The Institute for Women’s Studies is a unit of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences that brings together multidisciplinary perspectives on women and gender from across all schools and colleges at UGA.

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Yes, Baby, We Have Come a Long Way!

HH Note: Celebrate, women! We have come a long way. The opportunities available to our young girls of today appear to know no bounds. What a tremendous contrast from American life just forty years ago.

Proclamation by the President of the United States of America on Women's Equality Day

With vision and determination, American women have helped build our great Nation. On Women's Equality Day, we remember the dedication of women who overcame many obstacles in order to secure the right to vote.

The struggle for women's rights is a story of strong women willing to take the lead and pave the way toward equal voting rights for all American citizens. In 1848, a group of determined women came together in Seneca Falls, New York, to proclaim that "all men and women are created equal," and demand suffrage. On August 26, 1920, their voices were finally heard, and the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women the right to vote.

As we look back on the journey to women gaining suffrage, we remember the sacrifices of people like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. More than 160 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, we celebrate the spirit, leadership, and hard work of those pioneering women. We also recognize the women who continue in this tradition by acting as role models in their communities, helping raise the next generation of Americans, leading in their professions, and serving in the Armed Forces protecting our country. These women are continuing on the path set by those who came before them, so that all Americans can realize the great promise of our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2008, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and observe this day with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand thistwenty-second day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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